


Expanding Vocabulary

by Quoshara



Series: Ebb and Flow [4]
Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: Jealousy, M/M, Misunderstanding, Parents, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-21
Updated: 2011-05-21
Packaged: 2017-10-19 15:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/202587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quoshara/pseuds/Quoshara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cody returns from a visit home, a bit sleep deprived, to find that something odd is happening on the Riptide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Expanding Vocabulary

**Author's Note:**

> For my P-i-C, speak_me_fair, co-author extraordinaire and beta supreme (Sounds kind of like a Combo at McDonalds... *snort*), but who takes no responsibility for my horrid summary writing.

* * *

"Hey, Cody. Welcome home." Nick reached into the bed of the Jimmy to pull out Cody's bag. He gave a small grunt, as he lifted it, his eyes rolling in amused annoyance. "Mom bought you clothes again, didn't she?"

"Doesn't she always?"

 _Yeah,_ Cody thought, _every time I visit I come home with a whole new wardrobe that I'll never wear._ Cody's wasn't sure if his mother thought he was still seventeen or what, but the clothes were just wrong - not him. They actually looked more like something Dooley would wear. One more proof that his mother never would know him half as well as Nick and Murray. "Here, let me get that."

He reached for the suitcase, but Nick waved him away. "Nah, I got it. You look tired."

Yeah, probably because he was. His mother had put him in his old bedroom. It still held his high school trophies for track and volleyball, old sports equipment, a few of the model ships he'd built and pictures of his old girlfriend, Danielle, the Prom Queen who had married a 4-F accountant while he was in 'Nam. Between all the nostalgia and the too-short bed he hadn't slept very well. "I can't sleep on dry land anymore, the bed doesn't rock."

Nick chuckled, "Well, I hope you're not _too_ tired."

"A good night's sleep on the Riptide and I'll be fine," Cody replied. "Where's Murray?"

"Oh...you know, he's around someplace." Nick said.

 _Okay, that was a bit cryptic, even for Nick._ "Around?"

"You know how he is when he gets involved in something." Nick said with a smile quirking around his lips. "He probably didn't hear you pull up."

Yeah, that had to be it. Although the way Murray and he had been skittering around each other lately....

"Nick, you didn't say anything to Murray, did you?"

"Did I--? " Nick scowled. "I promised you I wouldn't, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but--"

"No buts. I promised and I didn't."

"No...no...sorry." Cody sighed. Falling in love with Murray had been the best thing and the worst thing to ever happen to him. Best because...love and Murray gave him a peaceful glow every time he thought about it. The warmth of good friendship tied up in a person who looked up to him and that he could admire in turn - how could it be anything but the best? But it was also the worst because he was afraid to tell him, afraid to mess up their friendship if Murray didn't feel the same.

So he hadn't. But the way that Murray had been avoiding him lately it made him wonder if his friend had figured it out and was uncomfortable about it. Then again, he was almost avoiding Murray as well...it all just hurt too much. But maybe time, and a few more out of town trips, would make it easier. He hadn't thought about Murray quite so much while he was away. _Yeah, who do you think you're kidding?_

"So," Cody said, trying to make up his words to Nick, "did you have plans for the evening? I'm tired but maybe we can do something...like catch a game on TV or something. The Lakers are playing tonight aren't they?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to be around," Nick answered. "I helped Dooley with that old junker he bought and he owes me dinner. I'm thinking _Beach Bum Bert's_ at the very least for the number of hours I put in."

"You worked on Dooley's Chevy?" Before Cody had left, Nick had said in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't _'Work on a piece of crap like that if they paid me.'_ And now he was claiming he had? And voluntarily?

"Yeah, well, I needed the distraction."

"You needed - What's been going on here while I was gone?" Cody frowned.

"Nothing." Nick's eyes shifted, looking towards the Riptide.

"You needed a distraction from nothing?"

"Look, Cody. Just...all will be revealed, okay? I'll talk to you about it later - tomorrow." Nick held up his hands.

"Tomorrow." Okay, Cody could deal with that. He didn't have the strength or the mental alertness to deal with whatever was going on with Nick.

It didn't seem to be a real problem anyway, just... Well, he didn't know what 'just', but it couldn't be bad because Nick still had that irritating grin on his face. "Yeah. Alright, Nick. You go have dinner with Dooley. I'm so tired that I'll probably be sound asleep when you get back, anyway."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Nick gave a bizarre little chuckle as he left Cody and his suitcase on the dock next to the Riptide.

  


* * *

  


Perplexed wasn't a word that Cody normally fit into his vocabulary, but if certainly fit how his conversation with Nick had made him feel. Perplexed and more than a little uneasy.

The feeling did not diminish as he hefted his suitcase onto the Riptide and in through the salon doors.

That was where he stopped short. The salon was lit, not with its characteristic overhead lighting but by a dozen candles scattered around the room. The table was covered with a white linen tablecloth and set for two, silverware and glassware sparkling on its surface. Murray was posed - that was the only word for it - posed by the galley, wearing a dark smoking jacket, his arms folded artfully across his chest, those beautiful long white hands still for once, but framed by the soft material of the jacket.

"Cody, welcome home. I...I missed you."

The whole thing was oddly surreal, and Cody suddenly wondered if this was some kind of hallucination brought on by a combination of wishful thinking and sleep deprivation. "Um...hello, Murray. Did - What is all this?"

His words broke the spell and Murray looked simultaneously anxious and excited, "Well, Cody, it's just--"

"Oh, God...You've got a date tonight. And I just barged in and didn't even knock." Cody's heart began pounding. He wondered what would happen first - would it burst out of his chest or sink all the way down to his toes?

"I'll just -" Cody looked back at the door. "No, Nick already left. I'll - I'll just go into my room, Murray. I'm really tired. You'll never know I'm here. I can sleep through anything...really."

He had to get out of the salon, or disappointment was going to turn the sick feeling in his stomach into something a bit more physical and unpleasant.

"No, Cody...you don't have to do -"

"Yeah, I do. Because I don't want to spoil - and who are you expecting? Oh, it must be Annie, that little blonde that works at the Chicken Coop. I'll just go now..." Cody edged toward his room, feeling more awkward than he had in years.

"Cody, I just wanted to tell you--"

"You did, Boz, and I missed you too. And...have fun, okay?" He needed to move, but this whole thing was like a train wreck, holding him fascinated to see the destruction. The destruction of any idea he had of being with Murray - ended before it even began.

"No...You don't get it. I..." Murray started and then. "Damn it. I should have listened to Nick. I knew I'd get this wrong. I don't even know what... Why would I think I'd do any better when it was actually important?"

Murray sounded so down, so upset that it made Cody pause in his hesitant steps toward the stairs. "No. This is all very..." He cleared his throat. "I'm sure Annie will love it."

"I'm not expecting Annie--"

"Oh." Cody was thrown for a moment, but no-one could ever have accused him at not being great at the quick recovery. "Then Carol or Suzanne or...whoever you have coming over. It's great, Boz. Any girl would love -"

"It's not _for_ a girl!"

"It's not -" _Oh, God..._ Murray had a date with a guy. A guy that wasn't him. Cody's heart slid a little farther down toward his feet.

Murray had a date with a guy. Some guy who might take advantage of Murray's sweet disposition and treat him like a floor mat. Some big burly - It had to be that Marco guy, the one that ran the news stand. He always kept a paper especially for Murray - the L.A. Times - neat and crisp, just the way Murray liked it. And he always got Murray to autograph any magazines he appeared in and kept copies up on the walls of the stand, "To show off my favorite and famous customer" the guy had said. That scum! Using the smell of fresh newsprint and flattery to lure Murray into his web. How - Okay, he really was becoming delusional, his tired brain coming up with far too many melodramatic phrases.

"Oh...well...Any guy would like it too." There. He'd said all the helpful and supportive things he could manage to say while he was dying inside.

"I don't care about just any guy, Cody...I only want to impress one." Murray gave a sigh and then walked around the salon, blowing out candles, while he untied the belt of his smoking jacket. "But it looks like that's not going to work either..."

Cody looked up at the clock, "What time was he supposed to be here? Maybe he's just late?"

"Look, Cody. You can stop now. You don't have to try to make me feel better by giving me an out. I'm not going to pretend that I'm waiting for someone else when I spent all day yesterday planning all this for you..."

 _"Ya wha -?"_ Cody replied coherently.

Murray stomped over, stopping right in front of Cody, "Yeah, see that's where I should have actually listened to Nick. It was my idea to soften you up first...you know dinner and wine...candlelight. I should have stuck with the first plan, tell you I love you and then kiss you."

 _"Ya wha -?"_ Cody said again, his eyes watching the manic flutter of Murray's hands as they waved descriptively through the air. His hallucinations were becoming even more fantastical - Murray just said he loved him?

"Yeah, the first plan. Well, better late than never." Murray squared off in front of Cody, taking a deep breath before continuing in an almost methodical manner, as if he were giving one of his lectures. "I love you Cody Allen. Not like a brother or a friend, but like a lover, a mate. I want to be with you and I hope you feel the same."

Cody just gaped, openmouthed. _Yes, I hear the codfish look is very 'in' this year._

"Damn it all. What have I got to lose?" Murray grabbed two fists full of Cody's sweater, pulling him closer and covering his mouth with a kiss.

To say Cody was surprised was an understatement. Fortunately, Cody had never been one to let opportunity pass him by. He kissed back.

When they finally broke apart, Murray looked even more dazed than Cody felt, "I love you too."

 _"Ya wha -?"_ Was Murray's only reply.

  


* * *

  


(This saga continues with a story by Speak_me_fair, which is a bit of Nick's POV and can be found here: [Sympathetic Success](http://riptide.diagonalfiction.com/eFiction331/viewstory.php?sid=248) )

  


* * *

  



End file.
